Rise of the Planet of the Apes [DVD]

What a very very good film this is. In `Rise of The Planet of the Apes', English director Rupert Wyatt has a stab at doing what Tim Burton failed spectacularly to do in 2001 - resurrecting the Planet of the Apes franchise. What Wyatt has created, against all the odds, is a thoughtful, intelligent and stirring piece which provides the perfect antidote to all the silly, lacklustre `Apes' films since Franklin J. Schaffer's classic original from 1968.

The film charts the rise of Caesar, an orphaned laboratory chimp, from timid youngster to a sort of revolutionary leader of his fellow Simians. Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist at a pharmaceutical company researching a new drug and potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease that reverses the damage to brain tissue, tested on chimps. The effect it has on these animals is to rapidly increase intelligence to an unprecedented degree. After one of the apes goes berserk and trashes the laboratory, the drug is rejected by investors and all but one of the chimps, the baby Caesar, are killed. Will takes the chimp home with him and raises it himself but continues to use the drug on his father (John Lithgow), an Alzheimer's sufferer. Needless to say things go awry, and Caesar is taken away to a special facility where a large number of primates are held in captivity. Along the way there are various maltreatments of Caesar and his fellow chimps at the hands of sadistic humans, all of which contributes to his rise to power. Here begins the most powerful section of the movie, as Caesar gains the trust of his fellow apes and then eventually begins to command them.

Absolutely central to the success of the movie is the performance of Andy Serkis as Caesar, again displaying his enormous physical talents and reaffirming why he is the `go to' man for motion capture. Whether he be Gollum, King Kong, Captain Haddock or Caesar, someone please change the Academy rules and nominate this brilliant actor for an Oscar. The CGI effects are, for the most part, remarkable and as good as I have seen to date, with just a few slips; moments where you are reminded that the chimps aren't actually there. The final clash between apes and humans on the Golden Gate Bridge is thrilling and spectacular.

Sadly the performances of the human contingent are less spectacular. This is perhaps partly due to the fact that they have increasingly little to do as the film progresses, becoming almost fringe characters. Indeed, Freida Pinto has little to do from the start besides look pretty and smile sympathetically. But this is a fairly minor gripe because this is very much Caesar's story. In fact it makes the movie all the more impressive because Caesar's rise is depicted for a large portion of the film with very little dialogue. The pick of the human performances is probably John Lithgow as Will's father, a man losing his identity.

A really pleasant surprise this one. On the one hand a great action movie, with some thrilling set-pieces and terrific special effects. But its real power lies in the performance of Serkis as the central character, and the fun to be had watching him lead a Spartacus style revolution against oppression. 8.5/10.

Not a great fan of the planet of apes movies, but no matter cause this film stands out on its own. The special effects are fantastic, truly. My only disappointment was the end, which came suddenly just when the movie had started it seemed. The story about a scientist who is trying to find a of cure for alzheimers who stumbles across an agent that not only works, but makes its subjects (monkeys) far brighter. I won't say more, else I spoil the plot... buy and watch, great entertainment!

The 1968 Planet of the Apes film remains one of my favourite of all time - and probably always will. It spawned a dodgy follow-up and three more thought-provoking (though often underrated) sequels. After the disappointment of the 2001 remake (sorry Tim, "re-imagining") I was feeling pretty sceptical about this pseudo-prequel. The truth is that this isn't a de-facto prequel to the existing series of films, instead it's the start of a fresh reboot and covers similar grounds to the "Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes [DVD]" where we see the initial stages of apes challenging the authority of man. My concerns were pretty unfounded however, this is a well-conceived and well-executed piece of cinema.

'Rise' manages to stand on its own while also recognising the '68 classic (and the subsequent films of the original franchise) through subtle references such as the Icarus Space mission, and more direct links - the most obvious being the re-use of *that* line - this time delivered by Tom 'Malfoy' Fenton who gets the privilege of yelling at a damn dirty ape. The set-up has the potential to be lazily cheesy as we see a scientist working on a cure for Alzheimer's, which his dad also happens to be suffering from, but instead of taking the standard, overly sentimental approach we get a well-developed story which is emotionally engaging on a mature level. The most visible break from any other 'Apes films is the use of CGI instead of prosthetics to create the chimpanzees and they are incredibly good. At times they are clearly computer generated but then again the apes from the original films were obviously humans in suits! Once your eye gets used to the look they appear quite natural, the visual effects really bring the apes to life and they are very expressive, the eyes are perfect and not the 'dead' eyes you see in so many other CGI creations. Caesar in particular is full of personality and his obvious intelligence means that his incarceration is heart-breaking to watch as he asks/signs to convey that he wants to go home. A lot of effort has gone into convincing us that Caesar is real and it's not long before you believe he is, his mannerisms look realistic and appear to be a blend of chimpanzee and human to reflect how his origins contrast with his humanlike upbringing, and the direction his kind are headed. It's a difference which makes him superior to other chimps - it makes him a natural leader.

Instead of relying on tenuous events to kickstart an ape revolution the film carefully develops all aspects of the plot to make sure that everything is in place to begin the whole saga - once the film ends you will understand how the apes became intelligent and realise what will cause the downfall of humankind. The final scenes are action packed and a visual spectacle, but Rise Of The Planet of The Apes isn't built around a few minutes of action and consists of a genuinely compelling watch which never loses pace. The first time we see an ape stand up to its human aggressor and shout "no" feels iconic, this film is creating its own moments of cinema history rather than jumping on a bandwagon.

The Blu-Ray looks superb, individual hairs look amazing - and that's just on James Franco! Small details look clear and movement looks fluid, this is a film which definitely benefits from high-definition. My only criticism would be that the apes sometimes look 'too' clear - but it's barely even a niggle worth mentioning. Colours are crisp and the film captures a fairly realistic look and is mainly set indoors so neutral tones, domestic clutter or plain surroundings are often seen and they look photo-realistic. Outdoor scenes seem to have boosted saturation and it looks great with lush green foliage looking bright and natural against some of the more drab surroundings. As you'd expect from a film with almost constant CGI, there are some interesting bonus features included which delve into how the look was achieved. Andy Serkis is synonymous with motion capture technology and rightly features on the disk in several of the documentaries. The extras tend to be quite short but there's enough here to show the creative talent and the respect to the original movies behind one of the best films of 2011.

In a nutshell: A film worthy of the Planet of The Apes 'brand'. We empathise with the intelligent Caesar and watching him develop a sense of self-awareness allows to see the germ of revolution grow alongside an opportunity to act. This may be a reboot leading into a fresh series of films but it also complements what has come before it and it respectfully acknowledges them. I'd give this 4.5 stars if I could - but I can't, on balance I'm sticking my neck out for 5, it may not be as iconic as the original '68 film but then again very few are, it could have been slightly more thought provoking but it's still a stimulating watch which covers all bases and establishes a very strong foundation for any subsequent titles.